This Banana Cake is a delicious, one-bowl vegan recipe made from mashed ripe bananas, walnuts and whole wheat flour. Tasty and a bit healthier than traditional Cakes, this quick and easy eggless Banana Cake recipe is refreshingly light, pillowy soft and incredibly moist.
Table of Contents
More on This Eggless Banana Cake
Everyone in my family enjoys this delicious, moist banana cake – especially my brother-in-law, who compares it to those he had at the well-known Vienna Bakery in Mumbai.
So if you have some ripe bananas laying around at home, then get mashing and make this quick and easy cake.
This banana cake recipe has been adapted from my very popular, tried and tested Banana Bread.
By increasing the amount of oil and bananas in that recipe, I was able to make a light and soft cake. I also reduced the amount of baking soda and added in chopped walnuts for an extra crunch.
Ingredients You Need
- Bananas: The star of the cake, you’ll need approximately 4 ripe or overripe bananas.
- Flour: Though my recipe is made with whole wheat flour, you can use all-purpose flour or pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- Leavening ingredients: The recipe has both baking powder and baking soda. For best results, I suggest to use both. Make sure that they are fresh and active.
- Oil: A neutral tasting oil works great. But you can use olive oil and coconut oil. You can also use melted butter. I have made the cake with sunflower oil.
- Nuts: While walnuts are traditionally mixed into the batter, any halved or crushed nuts can be used. Feel free to use almonds, pecans or cashews.
- Dry Fruits: Raisins, cherries, or other dried fruits add extra sweetness to the cake.
- Flavorings: My recipes simply has vanilla extract as the key flavoring ingredient. You can add ground spices for warming flavors. Ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice or pumpkin spice make the cake have a lovely aroma.
- Optional Ingredients: Coconut flakes, chocolate and other ingredients can be delicious additions to this cake recipe; however, make sure not to overload your banana bread with too many extras.
How to Make Banana Cake Recipe
Make Banana Puree
1. Mash 4 medium to large ripe or over-ripe bananas with a fork to a smooth consistency. I have used over-ripe bananas for this recipe.
TIP: The consistency should be smooth without any chunks, so if needed you can also use a blender to mash the bananas.
2. Add ½ cup of sugar, ⅔ cup of any neutral flavored oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mashed bananas.
3. Stir well so the oil mixes with the banana puree and the sugar dissolves completely.
Make Batter
4. Sieve 1½ cups of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt directly in the bowl.
TIP: If you do not have a sieve, you can use a fine mesh strainer or whisk.
5. Fold the dry ingredients thoroughly into the wet ingredients. Fold using the cut and fold method.
Check my video above or in the recipe card below to see how to form the batter with the cut and fold method.
TIP: Do not mix! If the batter looks too thick, add some water, almond milk or lite coconut milk.
The amount of water to be added depends on the quality and texture of the whole wheat flour and the consistency of the batter. Only add in the extra liquids if the batter looks very thick.
6. Add 10 halved walnuts that have been finely chopped and fold again. Prep and chop the walnuts before to add to the batter.
Tip: In addition to walnuts, you can also add raisins, pistachios or any nuts and dry fruits of your choice.
Bake Eggless Banana Cake
7. Pour the batter into a greased or lined loaf pan ( 7.5 x 4 x 2.5 inches) or round cake pan (7.5 x 2 inches).
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The timing varies from oven to oven, so keep a note of this.
Tip: If the top of the cake starts browning too much, cover the top with aluminum foil or parchment paper while baking.
Suggestion: If you do not have an oven, then bake the cake in a stove-top pressure cooker. Follow the method listed in this detailed post of Pressure Cooker Cake to make this banana cake.
Note: The orange-yellowish color in the image is due to incandescent lighting in my kitchen.
9. When warm or cooled, slice and serve Eggless Banana Cake plain with your tea or coffee.
Serving Suggestions
- Delicious all on its own with an evening cup of tea or coffee or as a sweet dessert.
- Top with homemade whipped cream
- Frost the cake with butter or cream icing, or even chocolate icing.
Storage
At room temperature, the cake stays well for 2 to 3 days. Wrap the cake in a cling film or store in an air-tight box and refrigerate. It keeps well for about 2 weeks when refrigerated. The cake also freezes well for a couple of months.
Expert Tips for Best Banana Cake
- Batter: This eggless banana cake batter has a medium-thick consistency. Depending on the quality or texture of whole wheat flour, you may require to add liquids like water or almond milk or lite coconut milk if the batter looks very thick.
- Flour: Though whole wheat flour forms the base of this cake, you can sub it with all-purpose flour in the same proportion as of whole wheat flour. Both atta (that is whole wheat flour used to make roti) as well as the whole wheat flour available in the US, Europe and other countries work well in the recipe.
- Folding: Form the batter using the cut and fold method. Do not use a whisk and mix the ingredients.
- Baking: Depending on the temperature in your oven and the size of your pan, the cake might take less or more time to bake. As the temperature varies from oven to oven so keep a note of this. The benchmark is that a tooth pick or skewer inserted in the vegan banana cake should come out clean.
- Oil: For the oils, a neutral tasting oil works best. So you can add sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil. You can even make the cake with olive oil or coconut oil.
- Vegetarian option: Instead of oil use butter. Melt butter and use in the same proportion as that of oil.
- Flavorings: Chocolate chips or cocoa powder or cacao nibs can be included. Chopped nuts like pistachios, pecans, pine nuts, almonds and seeds like sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), flax seeds and sunflower seeds can be added. Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet prior to adding.
- Spices: If you like spiced cakes, then add about ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg or 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
FAQs
Because the ingredients for this vegan banana cake recipe are so easy to customize, you can simply withhold adding in sweeter items, such as sweetened coconut flakes, chocolate, or dried fruits.
Instead of oil you can use butter to make this recipe vegetarian. Simply melt the butter and use in the same proportion as that of the oil.
Your banana cake should last 2 to 3 days if properly stored. Wrap your cake in plastic wrap and leave on the counter. If you plan to store in the fridge, then place it an air-tight box or wrap tightly in a cling film so that the cake does not dry out.
Whisking disturbs the the combined ingredients and causes the batter to lose air that helps it to rise. When using the folding method instead, you preserve more of the volume and will have a fuller vegan banana cake.
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Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Easy Banana Cake Recipe (Eggless, Vegan & Whole Wheat)
Ingredients
- 4 bananas (medium to large ripe or overripe) – 300 grams
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour or 180 grams whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup regular sugar or organic unrefined cane sugar or 100 grams sugar
- ⅔ cup any neutral flavored oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 halved walnuts – finely chopped or any dry fruits or nuts of your choice (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). If using a regular oven, heat both the top and bottom elements. For a microwave convection oven, just preheat the oven.
Making cake batter
- Peel and chop the bananas. Add them to a bowl and mash them with a fork. You can also use a blender to mash the bananas.
- Add sugar, oil and vanilla extract.
- Mix thoroughly so that the oil mixes evenly with the banana puree and the sugar dissolves.
- Sieve whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt directly in the bowl. You can also sieve these separately and then add them to the wet ingredients.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients very well.
- Add the chopped walnuts and fold again. Apart from walnuts, you can also add raisins, pistachios or any nuts and dry fruits of your choice.
- Pour the batter in a greased or lined loaf pan ( 7.5 x 4 x 2.5 inches) or round cake pan (7.5 x 2 inches).
Baking banana cake
- Gently tap and shake the pan. Place the pan in the center rack if using a regular oven or otg.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 45 to 50 mins or until a wooden skewer or tooth pick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- If the top of the cake starts browning then cover the top with an aluminium foil or parchment paper while baking.
- When warm or cooled, gently remove the cake from the pan. Slice and serve banana cake as is with tea or coffee.
Video
Notes
- Batter: This banana cake batter has a medium-thick consistency. Depending on the quality or texture of flour, you may require to add liquids like water or almond milk or lite coconut milk if the batter looks very thick.
- Flour: In place of whole wheat flour, you can easily use all-purpose flour in the same quantity as that of whole wheat flour. Both atta (that is whole wheat flour used to make roti) as well as whole wheat flour available in the US and Europe, work well in the recipe.
- Folding: Use the cut and fold method to make the batter. Do not use a whisk and mix the ingredients.
- Baking: Depending on the temperature in your oven and the size of your pan, the cake might take less or more time to bake. As the temperature varies from oven to oven so keep a note of this. The benchmark is that a tooth pick inserted in the banana cake should come out clean.
- Oil: You can add sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil. You can even add olive oil or coconut oil.
- Vegetarian option: Instead of oil you can use butter. Melt the butter and use in the same proportion as that of the oil.
- Flavorings: Chocolate chips or cocoa powder or cacao nibs can be added. Chopped nuts like pistachios, pecans, pine nuts, almonds and seeds like sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), flax seeds and sunflower seeds can also be added. Lightly toast the seeds in a pan before adding them to the batter.
- Spices: If you like spiced cakes, you can add about ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg or 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Banana Cake recipe post from the archives first published in May 2014 has been republished and updated on 26 January 2022.
An all time hit with my kids specially my toddler who is extremely fussy eater.
Can’t thank you enough for this recipe.
Hi Amit, hope you are doing well.
I cannot count how many times I have tried this recipe but it has always been a hit. It has been loved by family and friends.
This time I want to make this cake using multigrain flour. I have aashirwad multigrain flour. Will it give a different taste?
thanks sonam for sharing this feedback and review. yes with multigrain flour, the taste will be different. do note that the amount of whole wheat flour should be more as compared to the other flours in the multigrain flour.
Hello Mam I am new to baking.I have tried baking two three times but I am not getting the right temperature measurement for my oven.i had once baked it at 180c but the cake came very hard in microwave.soni reduced it the cake was soft and fluffy but it didn’t swell much as I desired.Where m I going wrong?
microwave convections ovens bake faster than an OTG. so you can bake at a lower temperature like 165 or 170 degrees celsius. the fluffiness of the cake does not depend on the temperature but using fresh and active baking soda, baking powder and mixing or folding the batter correctly. too much of folding or mixing the batter will make the cake dense. hope this helps.
Can I bake banana cake using cooker
yes you can.
For how long should we cook it in the cooker?
approx 25 to 30 minutes.
Hello there
I keep trying ur recipes and they always turn out to be good . I tried ur banana bread but it not bake very well from inside . I kept it at the given temperature 180 degrees but it was still undone even after one hour… can u tell me where did I go wrong
try not to over do the folding batter. if the batter is not folded too much gluten strand form and they give a dough structure in the bread. on the outside it looks like the bread is not baked, but actually the baking is done. this is because of mixing the dough too much.
Hi Dassana,
I am following your recipies regularly and everytime they turn out to be very good.
I wanted to add some chocolate chips to this recipe. Should I make some changes in the ingredients quantity or should I just add a small amount of chips to the above recipe??
thanks ashita. don’t make any changes to the recipe. just add the small amount of chocolate chips.
Hi Dassana,
I had a query. Can I substitute banana with pineapple as my kids like pineapple cake? Also what is the difference in the cake if egg is added or not added? Does it make the cake taste better like the market ones?
I really like your recipes they always turn out good, since I make them for kids I like the heathy option of wheat over maida.
Lots of good wishes and gratitute to you!
yes of course dee. pineapple puree can be substituted. with eggs the cake have a better crumb structure. they are more lighter and fluffier as compared to cakes made without eggs. though with using correct egg substitutes once can get such a texture also. in the market for eggless cakes, a few more ingredients are added that make the cake fluffy like cake gel and cake improvers. i would not add such ingredients in homemade cakes and its better to use natural edible ingredients.
thanks for the feedback and best wishes to you too.
Hi Dassana,
Thank you for all the healthy recipes. Banana cake came out very well. I don’t get this spongy texture in whole wheat chocolate cake. Should I add some baking powder? How much should I add?
thanks nalini. yes you can add some baking powder. since baking soda is already added, thus you can add 1/4th teaspoon baking powder.
Am a beginner . My cake turned a little bitter and crumbly & very crisp on the outside . Where did I go wrong ?
crumbliness could be due to uneven folding or mixing of the batter. bitterness i am not sure. could be due to the type of oil used. when making cakes with oil, always use a neutral tasting oil. when baking keep the pan in the center rack of the oven. and mix or fold the batter gently but well. hope these tips help. the more you bake, the more you will get the knack of it and you will become good in baking.
Thank you so much Dassana. Your response is so encouraging . Am not giving up ..Will correct my mistakes next time .
welcome aarthi.
Bitterness is due to excess of vanilla essence..
Thank you so much dassana Amit. I will definitely try this cake in metal pan as the batter was very tasty. Thanks a ton.
welcome divyanshi. when baking in a microwave convection mode for any thing like pizza or cookies or cake, always better to use a metal pan as it conducts heat very well and thus the baked product has a golden finish or a golden crust.
I tried this cake for my kids in my ifb microwave convection using convection mode. However cake became hard from top and the from inside it was half cooked. I used borosil glass round bowl. Please help, I don’t know where I went wrong.
divyanshi, in a convection mode of microwave oven, the heat comes from the top (as the heating elements are usually placed on the top). also there is no heat source from the bottom as regular ovens have. so the top gets baked more. secondly a glass bowl or pan is a not a good conductor of heat. so the baking is slow when baked in a glass pan. what has happened here is that heat has not been conducted well enough in the glass pan (as no heating element below in the oven) and moreover using a glass pan will slow down the conduction. if you use a metal pan, the cake would have got baked from the center with some browning from the top. this are the reasons why the cake has become hard from top and half cooked.
hope i have been able to explain well. try to use a metal pan when baking in the convection mode of microwave oven. if the top starts becoming brown, then cover the top with aluminium foil or parchment paper when baking in the convection mode only.
Hello ma’am, I love your recipes and keep trying them out. Planning to bake this cake in a couple of days. I was wondering if it is okay to use eno fruit salt instead of baking soda in the recipe? Please let me know. Thanks!
shaii, thanks. you can use eno in place of baking soda. add about ½ to ⅔ teaspoon of eno.
Hello Dassanna,
I am a HUGE fan of urs. Every time I want to check out a recipe yours is the first website I search. You make the entire cooking process seem really simple and your step by step pics are a real help. Lots of Love, Kudos and Respect. And thanks a bunch for all the recipes
thank you much ananya. so glad to read your positive comment. i try to make the cooking process simple so that it helps the readers. wish you all the best and welcome. happy cooking.
Hi, can we make this cake in pressure cooker or steamer with the same measurements of ingredients?
yes sivi, you can easily make this cake in the pressure cooker.
Hello so I tried this one today looked good but when I cut it .. it wasn’t as crumbly as it looks in the picture .. it’s more like sheera .. could u tell me the problem
vipra, the cake needs to be baked for some time. its not baked completely. so please bake for some more time.